Purpose. The effects of physical exercise on executive functions (EFs) are well-documented. EFs are involved in daily activities and their development determines the quality of people’s future life, both in terms of mental health and quality of life. The purpose of the current paper is to evaluate the effects of a physical education program, elaborated within the Enriched Sports Activity Program (ESA Program), an Erasmus + Project, on executive functions, namely visuospatial working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility and task-switching. Method. Data were collected on November 2017 (t1) and May 2018 (t2). At t1, a sample of 357 children from four European Countries (Italy, Germany, Lithuania, Turkey) performed a cognitive test battery made up of Digit Span Forward/Backward, Stroop Task, and Trial Making Task (TMT), whose order was randomized. From November until May, classrooms from the experimental group followed the ESA program, while classrooms from control continued with the ordinary physical education class. At t2, children from both experimental and control group performed again the cognitive battery. Result. The repeated measure ANOVA showed a significant effect of the ESA program on the Trial-Making Task B and on Digit Span Backward, but no significant effects were found on Digit Span Forward and Stroop Task. Conclusion. A constant exercise during childhood, as the one provided by ESA Program, has beneficial effects on working memory and cognitive flexibility.
展开▼
